1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ear cover for covering and protecting the ear from fluids and hot implements utilized to treat the hair on a person's head.
2. Description of Prior Art and Objects
When a person's hair is being shampooed, colored or treated with various other fluid chemicals, it is common for such fluids to inadvertently enter the inner ear of a person being treated. In addition to being generally annoying, individuals suffering from sores, cuts, or other ear problems, can have their condition exacerbated by the entry of such fluids into the ear. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel ear cover for covering the ear to preclude the entry of fluids being used to treat a person's hair.
Beauticians frequently utilize hot implements such as a curling iron for processing the hair and occasionally such irons will touch the protruding external ear structure causing extreme pain. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel ear cover which will protect the external ear structure from being burned by an implement used to treat a person's hair.
Various ear covers have been provided heretofore but are complicated and are relatively expensive to manufacture such as that illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,153 issued to Donna S. Voorhees on Jan. 16, 1979; U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,623 issued to Donna S. Voorhees on Jan. 5, 1982; U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,643 issued to Ha Y. Jung on Oct. 14, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,229 issued to Paul W. Harris on Apr. 28, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,001 issued to Jacquelin E. Wright on Feb. 17, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,099 issued to Donna Sue Voorhees on May 12, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,806 B1 issued to Staphea S. Campbell on Mar. 6, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,157 B1 issued to Claudette Yvonne Lobbins on May 29, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,493 B1 issued to Bernice Ambroise on Oct. 9, 2001; as well as U.S. Patent Publication 2001/0029622 A1 of Jeaneth Bose published on Apr. 18, 2001. The structures in the aforementioned patents generally provide bags or caps which receive the ear in its normal condition and are expensive to manufacture. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel ear cover which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ear cover formed from a sheet of thin flexible material which can cover the ear and be secured to the portion of the skull or skin surrounding the user's head without enveloping the ear in a bag or cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,831 issued to Yvette L. Harris on Nov. 25, 1997, discloses an ear protector formed from a sheet of thin flexible material which has a curved flap that fits over the helix of the pinna of the exterior ear. This construction is complicated and expensive to manufacture and does not provide a waterproof seal to preclude water from entering the ear.
Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel ear cover which will adhesively seal to the skull skin surrounding the user's ear to insure that any hair treating liquid does not enter the inner ear canal.
It has been found according to the present invention that forwardly folding the ear prior to covering the ear will greatly assist in protecting or shielding the inner ear from the admission of fluids and from being engaged by hair treating utensils. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel ear protector and method which will hold the ear in a forwardly folded position while hair is being treated.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a flexible sheet which will cover and hold the forwardly folded ear and includes a perimetrical adhesive border for sealing to the portion of the person's head surrounding the folded ear.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an ear cover of the type described which includes a central non-adhesive area for bearing against the folded ear and a ring of adhesive material surrounding the non-adhesive area for adhesively sealing to the portion of the head surrounding the ear.
It is a still further another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method of covering and protecting the ear including forwardly folding the ear and holding it in a forwardly folded condition.
Some individuals have conditions which prohibit any burning of the outer ear. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel ear cover which includes a laminate having a sheet of heat resistant material and a sheet of water impervious material having a perimetrical border for sealingly engaging the user's head.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ear cover of the type described which includes a central pad of non-adhesive material, for bearing against the folded ear, mounted on a water impervious flexible strip that surrounds the central pad and adhesively seals to the portion of the head surrounding the ear and holds the padded area against the folded ear while the hair is being treated.
It has been found according to the present invention that it may be advantageous to increase the width of the cover along the lower edge thereof relative to the upper edge so that increased adhesive can be provided to secure the device to the skin on the user's head below the ear. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel ear cover which is narrower at the top than at the bottom.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel ear cover of the type described which has a bell shape.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ear cover of the type described which includes a rectangular central pad mounted on a flexible water impervious sheet having a bell shape with a perimetrical border provided with adhesive on one side thereof for adhesively sealing to the skin of the user's head surrounding the ear.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily apparent as the descriptions hereof proceeds: